Conveyor Buffer for Food Slices Decoupling Speed and Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conveyor systems face disruptions due to defects in target arrangements of product slices, particularly when slicing multiple food products simultaneously, leading to incomplete arrangements that can hinder downstream processes like packaging, as high-speed slicers require robots with high kinematics and load capacity, which are costly and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A dual conveyor system where incomplete arrangements are diverted to a secondary conveyor line for reformation into target arrangements, allowing for slower and less costly formation of desired arrangements without the need for high-speed robots, enabling seamless integration with packaging machines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a robot is used to transfer portions from the conveyor device to the packaging machine, then the operation of the packaging machine is not impaired by incomplete arrangements, but the robot requires high kinematics and load capacity which increases costs and reduces efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
A buffer storage system is introduced as an intermediary between the conveyor device and packaging machine. This buffer temporarily stores portions and allows the packaging machine to operate continuously even when the conveyor experiences interruptions or incomplete arrangements, eliminating the need for complex high-speed robots while maintaining operational reliability
2Weight of moving object
If several robots are provided for the packaging machine in a series arrangement, then the load capacity requirement is met, but the overall length of the system increases and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer storage system is divided into multiple independent storage positions arranged in parallel rather than series. This segmentation allows the system to handle multiple portions simultaneously without requiring a long series arrangement of robots, reducing the overall system length while maintaining the required load capacity
3Productivity
If the slicing device performance is adapted to the robot performance, then the robot can handle the portions, but the cutting performance of modern high-speed slicers cannot be fully utilized
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer storage system allows portions to be placed in advance and organized before the packaging machine needs them. This preliminary action decouples the high-speed slicing process from the portion transfer speed, allowing the slicer to operate at maximum speed while the buffer handles portions at a more manageable pace
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for conveying objects, in particular product slices produced by simultaneously slicing several food products or portions comprising several product slices, in which the objects (11) are conveyed in a conveying direction (F) on a main conveying path (13) in multiple lanes in target arrangements (R) formed by objects of several lanes, in particular in rows extending transversely to the conveying direction, incomplete arrangements (17) of objects having at least one defect (19) are diverted to a secondary conveying path (15), and target arrangements (R) are formed from the objects forming the incomplete arrangements (17).